00:00Hey, what are you so late for?
00:25Remember, Patriot parades have been going on all throughout the civilian sector.
00:31I can barely get anywhere.
00:33Yeesh! More Patriot parades. Just what we needed.
00:37You'd think you'd be on board, such as for the country you founded.
00:41I didn't found the Penguin Union for this naked display of self-congratulations.
00:46Besides which, this is all because the Chair Penguin hijacked a funeral to give a political speech.
00:52Was there anything in that speech that you disagreed with?
00:56Well, no. Not as such. I just...
01:00I don't know. Things are just getting too noisy.
01:04You didn't found the country to be quiet, though, did you?
01:08Just shut up and man the camera. I've got a review to do.
01:25I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't
01:55Hiya! Penguin Truth here, and it's time for more Otaku Evolution. Be sure to like, subscribe,
02:17and contribute to my Patreon. It's 2024, we're 11 years into this thing, and I'm only just getting
02:24to the classic anime movie Akira. I've actually avoided reviewing it because it's been basically
02:30reviewed to death in the past, but I think enough time has passed for me to re-watch it
02:35and give it a go, critically. Also, I'm just plain running out of notable dubbed anime to review.
02:41Akira fills the schedule slot juuuuust right.
02:47We've touched on the subject of direct adaptation versus distillation in the past with titles like
02:52Trigun. In cases where there is a more direct, formally accurate adaptation like Fullmetal
02:57Alchemist Brotherhood, we have thorough, scene-by-scene recreations of what occurs in the
03:02original manga, with perhaps some creative flourishes here and there. Anime like Black
03:07Lagoon, outside of a few scenes, are more slavish adaptations. In the case of distillations,
03:13you take the basic concepts of the manga and while remaining faithful to the spirit of the original,
03:18do something slightly different from it. Again, you have titles like Trigun, Hellsing, Area 88,
03:25the first FMA TV series, or movies like Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, which are all distillations.
03:33The cultural phenomenon that was the Akira movie has its origins in manga by the same person who
03:38directed the movie, Katsuhiro Otomo. Growing up in a rural area of Japan, a young Otomo had little else to
03:46do but read manga and dream about being a manga artist. In 1979, for the magazine Weekly Manga
03:52Action, he created the title Fireball, an incomplete work that would influence what would later become
03:58Akira, published in 1982 in the pages of Young Magazine. In the world of animation, Otomo made his
04:05first mark as a character designer in the, frankly terrible, Harmageddon movie. He began to make works of
04:11his own in anthologies Neo Tokyo and Robot Carnival. But it was in 1988 that he adapted his Akira manga
04:18into a full-length animated movie, one of the most expensive of its time and one of the most influential
04:23of all time. It's this movie that we take a look at here, a distillation of 2,000 pages of manga.
04:33When teen biker Kamida and his gang engaged with the rival gang, his childhood pal Tetsuo wipes out after
04:40encountering a strange child. He is then taken by the military, who find psychic potential within
04:45him they plan to exploit. This turns out to be a very bad idea, because the burgeoning psychopathy
04:51of Tetsuo combined with his great power makes him a building threat to the peace of the city and
04:56mankind at large. Can Kaneda stop his former friend? Can anyone? The only thing Tetsuo craves is
05:03more power and to know who Akira is, and how to get to him.
05:07And now we have an expert in biker game culture to talk about the troubled youths that are some of the
05:33main characters of this movie. The one, and thankfully only, Bancho Truth!
05:39Hey everybody! Bancho Truth here is the leader of the, uh, Saitama Slayers, was it?
05:47Joe! Got you!
05:49Ah, Monini! I want to lay down some wisdom on these
05:52fucking mamalukes in your audience! All seven, Natch!
05:57So tell me, in your own words, about Bozizuku culture, as it applies to Akira.
06:04Oi oi! Fatsha Brute! I am Hamaru for the life!
06:11Now, what the flick takes place in the future, it was made in the fucking 80s when Bozizuku was at
06:18its peak, a response to the weariness of the post-war population, with youth bristling up against the
06:25establishment of moneyed authority in the boom economy. Kaneda and his game, the capsules,
06:32and their rivals, the clowns, are thrill-seekers say a tefugo to the, uh, entrenched power paradigm,
06:40lashing out at the bored little fascism of the police state, and wielding the only power they have,
06:46the reckless, hot-blooded youth, and finally clashes!
06:51To wit, the absolute honto-oobots encounter between Kaneda and the crown leader,
06:58where they play a game of chicken, not knowing or caring who lives or dies!
07:05Interesting viewpoint, BT. But having read a good deal of the manga, the capsules are little more
07:10than shiftless pillheads, violent thugs who get swept up in something much bigger than them.
07:15Most of them don't even have roles in the workings of the story. Even Kaneda is practically a non-entity
07:22for somebody who's supposedly the main protagonist.
07:27The girl's sensitivity that makes me do it.
07:29I suppose I owe you one. Thank you very much, uh...
07:33I'm Kaneda.
07:34See you around, Kaneda.
07:37Wait a second! You're leaving just like that?
07:40Hey! Now hold on! I am the guy that saved you back there!
07:44You can at least tell me your name, you cold bitch!
07:51No more fights your body, you fuckin' struts!
07:55Maybe it's time for you to take a pizzalino, Vantatruth.
07:58What can I, stunad? It's nearly fuckin' China!
08:03Whatever. The point I was making was, don't read more into the text than is necessary.
08:08You wanted my expertise! This fuckin' Dissuru is Uzzi!
08:14Shut up. Got a review to continue.
08:18So, what Akira is really about is...
08:20Nuclear War.
08:22It begins with a gigantic blast, it ends in a gigantic blast,
08:25and in between we have the encroaching building threat of the nuclear boogeyman,
08:29in the form of the psychics.
08:31Yeah, the psychics are essentially a stand-in for nuclear weapons.
08:34It's more obvious in the manga, but clearly the whole point of the movie is that messing
08:38with the power of the psychics is too dangerous, and that power is best left alone.
08:44The movie is basically a polemic against the use of nuclear weapons,
08:47an understandable one given the Japanese experience with those weapons.
08:52Really, everybody is fighting over the use of the new nukes, the psychics.
08:56The so-called resistance to the government are puppets of a bureaucrat
08:59looking to gain an advantage over the other governmental powers.
09:02Then there is the entrenched power of the military, which is represented by the Colonel,
09:07whose people have been experimenting with children to make them into psychics.
09:11People like Kaneda and Kei, to a certain degree, are hopping between these powers,
09:15in a sense in the face of an overwhelming threat.
09:18Though I think only Kei fully recognizes it, because Kaneda is a little tunnel vision
09:23about stopping Tetsuo without a real appreciation for what he's getting into.
09:27Our hero is a bit dense.
09:28...kinds of things during their lifetime, right?
09:33Discovering things, building things, things like houses, high-speed trains,
09:42motorcycles, bridges and cities, rockets.
09:46So where do you suppose all that knowledge and energy comes from?
09:51This leads me to a question I had both reading the manga and watching the movie.
09:55Is the Colonel a hero or a villain? He's certainly an antagonist for part of the film,
10:00but it also seems like he might be a hero of his own story. I mean, who isn't? But you get what I mean.
10:06While the Colonel does oversee the experiments that lead to the powerful and dangerous psychic
10:11children, he is realistic about the threat they pose to humanity at large.
10:16Perhaps he thought he could unlock that power for a good use, despite his overall disdain for Neo-Tokyo,
10:22but circumstances required him to take a hard line when it becomes clear the government has no
10:27interest in the greater good and is just self-serving. He is a man of contradictions,
10:32treating the psychic children as well as can be expected, even with a certain fondness,
10:37but abhors Tetsuo's building power.
10:39Perhaps the Colonel is intended to be a morally gray character, not above extremist actions,
10:45but ultimately well-meaning in his own way.
10:48I have read much of the manga, and there are definitely big differences between the source
11:16and its film. While the film does contain the basic pitch of the manga, it lacks the constant
11:22story turns, surprises, and development. The anti-government forces are more fleshed out in
11:27the manga, for instance. Especially Kei, who is basically the true main character of the story.
11:32There are more psychic children, working for different factions. There are more scientists
11:36involved, studying the Akira phenomenon in Tetsuo.
11:41But you know something? It all gets a little tiresome after a while.
11:45Part of me would love to see some of the manga-only material adapted into animation,
11:50but another part of me is kind of glad the movie didn't have it all.
11:55I think the only characters that really suffered from the distillation were Kei and Ryu,
11:59especially the latter. For a movie, the story does pretty much all it sets out to do with the
12:04basics of the manga. It's a little shallow, perhaps, more flash than substance, but it doesn't do the
12:10source dirty, either. Ultimately, the movie owes its longevity in the public consciousness because of
12:16its excellent production values. The art and animation of Akira is on a level that even modern
12:22animated features rarely achieve, and with almost entirely traditional animation. Just look at the
12:28sumptuous, fluid motions and visuals. It's also stunning it masks some of the film's flaws,
12:34its superficiality, the lagging second act, creating the impression of a truly indispensable classic.
12:40While I wouldn't necessarily rank it in my top favorite anime movies,
12:44it's one of those movies that transcends anime aesthetic while simultaneously engrossed in it.
12:50If you're looking for an anime movie, animated movie, or just a movie in general,
12:54you won't be disappointed. Akira is a movie I should have gotten to earlier than this.
13:02I hope I did the movie some justice with this video. Anyway, next time on Otaku Evolution,
13:08we go from classic Otomo to classic Oshii, as I take a look at the second, and most celebrated,
13:14Yurisei Yatsuru movie, Beautiful Dreamer. Until then, see ya!
13:21You always treat me like a kid. You always show up and start bossing me around, and don't you deny it!
13:28And now you're a boss too, of this pile of rubble.
13:32Kaneda!
13:34That's Mr. Kaneda to you, punk!
13:44You always treat me like a kid.
13:46You always treat me like a kid.
13:48You always treat me like a kid.
13:50You always treat me like a kid.
13:52You always treat me like a kid.
13:54You always treat me like a kid.
13:56You always treat me like a kid.
13:58You always treat me like a kid.
14:00You always treat me like a kid.
14:02You always treat me like a kid.
14:04You always treat me like a kid.
14:06You always treat me like a kid.
14:08You always treat me like a kid.
14:10You always treat me like a kid.
14:12You always treat me like a kid.
14:13You know, the Chair Penguin probably saved your position.
14:24How do you figure?
14:25Well, before, the Council was considering removing you.
14:29But ever since the Chair Penguin worked everyone up into a patriotic frenzy, they wouldn't dare.
14:36You're the founder, after all.
14:38Hmm, I suppose.
14:39But I don't have the Council's unanimous support.
14:43There's some holdouts.
14:44Still, though, nobody's going to make a move on your position.
14:49Especially since you'll be of use in combat.
14:52You too, buddy.
14:53We're both human weapons.
14:55But I'd prefer if this country didn't saber-rattle.
14:57We have nukes, we have key manipulators, we have satellite cannons,
15:02and we're allies with a country with powerful airships.
15:06We're already a threat to world powers.
15:09We just remained under the radar until now.
15:11So who will be the first to pick up the gauntlet?
15:14Russia?
15:15Israel?
15:16The U.S.?
15:17If that orange imbecile wins the White House again, anything's possible.
15:22Beats me.
15:23I hope it doesn't interfere with my personal life.
15:26I was going to propose to my girlfriend.
15:29Pfft.
15:29You're picking now to get married?
15:31To that woman you met in group therapy?
15:33We can't all self-indulgently throw away our youths pining away for-
15:38I get the point, dude.
15:39Okay, Gene.
15:48It's time.
15:49Let's go.
15:49Let's go.
15:53Let's go.
16:04Let's go.
16:05Let's go.
16:06Let's go.
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